Our New Email! dochemp@shasta.com
Any email to us will be considered as public domain
and may be placed in one of our reading rooms
But, we will gladly remove any email from there too.
Please don't email me with dental problems as I
cannot diagnose over the internet.

This and our other 1000 pages are an archived journal for our family,
friends, (our patients) and other like hobby heads these past 10 years.
Info, humor, music, fun, photos. Not for advice or diagnosis! This is all my
opinion only! .... Our web sites best viewed with A sense of humor! And an updated Browser. Sorry ... I have not had the time to post any more emails for the past couple of years ... to many thousands coming in.

BAD Chariot's Aviation Reading Room

Date:12/14/04
Subject: Teaching about Veterans
To: dochemp@shasta.com

Dear Folks,
I teach 5th grade at an Elementary school. My dad was a WWII vet who fought in the South Pacific. He was in the navy aboard the USS Dark - a cook and a gunman. I grew up with such stories of brotherhood and respect for the military. I am passing that on my students every Veteran's Day and Pearl Harbor Day. I teach social studies (history) and language arts so we can study and write about what we learn. One of the girls is making a card for the VA hospital in Indianapolis and wanted to know what some of the WWII planes looked like up close. That is how we came upon your web site. What a terrific page! Those of us who had parents in the War, need to keep their memories alive by passing on their legacy and using it to encourage and teach patriotism to the young people who will one day fight to keep the freedom we hold so dear. It will all be gone forever if we don't keep passing it on with pride and honor to those who served.
Thanks for your site, we have all appreciated it. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

Hi there I would like to thank you for the web site My
Grandpa was killed in a B25C plane crash My farther
was 4 months old My nephew just got back from
Baghdad. It show me that he did not die for nothing
All gave some and some gave all Can you tell me
if there is a B25 open to the public?
Kendra Baucom
Subject:
YOUR PAGE
Date:
Wed, 3 Sep 2003 22:25:7 -0500
From:
"Gary Skinner" vet11cav@earthlink.net
To:
dochemp@shasta.com

I STUMBLED ON YOUR SITE WHILE LOOKING FOR PICTURES OF OLD STUDEBAKERS. AS THE SON OF A
WWII VETERAN, THE COUSIN OF A KOREAN WAR VETERAN, THE FOSTER BROTHER OF A GULF WAR
VETERAN, AND A VIET NAM VETERAN MYSELF, I THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR THE
WONDERFUL SITE. THE 9/11 TRIBUTE WAS A REAL HEART JERKING EXPERIENCE TO READ AND LISTEN
TO. THANKS AGAIN. (WHO IS THE FOOL WHO SAID THERE IS NOTHING GOOD ON THE INTERNET???)

My name is William, I'm french, 33 years old. I'would like to say thank you to the sons of the men who saved my country !
I'm so sorry about what happen between USA and France. Here, we don't forget what am�rica gave us: Freedom.
Most of people, here, thinks that Sadam must die.

I've got my private licence, and when i fly on the Normadie, i think about the pilotes during WWII. I went to the Omaha Beach Cimetery and i was very sad...

With all my respect

Dave & Becky,

I would like to begin by complimenting you on the fine work you
performedon your informative and entertaining web site!! I am listening
to "On Blueberry Hill" as I write this. I received an email
informing me of your site from my friend, Glenn Roberts, who is a WW II
veteran, serving on B-24s in the 373rd Bm Sq, 308th Bm Grp, Yangkai,
China. I haven't had time to enjoy the site fully, but I will do so!

I am not sure if you are aware of the "Web Home of the 341st Bomb
Group" web site. It has been my work of love and tribute to the men who
served, and sacrificed, as members of the Groups Squadrons (11th, 22nd,
490th and 491st). I have been adding information and photo images, as
well as modifying the presentation, since 1994. I am humbly proud of
the web site, and receive my rewards from the spinoffs; such as
providing email/postal/telephone contact information to old "army
buddies", triggering conversations between veterans and their children,
grandchildren, or great-grandchildren; or from simply receiving an email
informing me that the web site triggered some fond memories for a
veteran.

Over the years I have accumulated various bits of information, a few
books, and many photos and bits of memorabilia. Among them, I multiple
copies of "the Record - 11th Bombardment Squadron (M), 341st Bomb
Group." The book is a compilation of many of the 11th Bomb Squadron
records, (mostly Monthly/Quarterly History Reports) assembled and edited
by men serving in the Squadron, and published in 1945. In many places
it lists the names of the personnel assigned. In addition it provides
fairly accurate mission information, as well as occasional narratives
about the non-flying activities of the men.

I bring this to your attention because I would be willing to share a
more recent reprint (hardbound) of the book with you, should you care to
read it. I don't specifically remember that it does, but I am reasonably
sure that it must mention your Uncle Herb...at least the mission on
which he was Killed-In-Action. And, he has to be on at least one of
the pesonnel reports, because the Roster I compiled for the web site has
him listed and notes he was KIA. It's quite late, but tomorrow I will
quickly scan through the book, looking for references to Herbert Hempe.

Lastly, I am quite interested in acquiring a copy of the Saturday
Evening Post article, which mentions Herb and Morie Taber (Morris Taber
later became Commander of the 341st Bomb Group). From what I could
read, the article does a great job of describing the humanity and the
inhumanity experienced by the men, as they served the country. I would
be deeply apprciative, if you would be so kind as to send me a copy of
the article. I will most gladly pay for any copying and mailing
expenses.

Well, I must close, but I want to again express my compliments on your
web site! Or, should I say "web sites?" Well done!

Cordially,

Tony Strotman MSgt, USAF (1969-1987, ret.);
webmaster
- Web Home of the 341st Bomb Group;
http://www.341stbombgroup.org/
- 308th Bomb Group on the Web;
http://www.308thbombgroup.org/
>>>>>>>>>>>>
Folks ... this is what the positive side of the intenet is about .... grass roots history ... (real history) ... Tony .. Thank You for all your work too ... I will of course send you the copy at no charge and Yes I did see the official report of his KIA in a hard bound book one of my patients brought in. We made a copy of it which I can not find .. maybe you could send me a copy and I will get it up here on the web site too.
Regards,
Dave "Doc" Hemp(e)
Subject:
hello.
Date:
Sun, 30 Dec 2001 21:17:54 +1000
From:
"Nigel Hastings" njh@hermes.net.au
To:
dochemp@c-zone.net

we have just gotten our computer and I found your web page while trying to
find photos of B-25 bombers,

my father was a radio-gunner, serving in the 14th Air Force in China. he flew
50 combat missions in B-25 and was shot down twice. I have many of his personal
items from that time, ex- his diary, many photos of B-25's, his flight records, his
medals (2 DFC's with stars and 2 Air Medals) and much more.

do you have any other prints of B-25s that served in China under the old Flying
Tiger general. I also have an autographed picture of him
>>>>>>>>>
Randy ...
This is very interesting ... your dad and my uncle would definitely have known each other as Uncle
Herb was on his 2nd tour of 50 combat missions when he was killed ... his plane was the Gladys D
..... I don't have photos of his plane .... maybe you do ... I would like to put your photos up on a
page in your dad's name ... with some history .. you could put together in office word and attach it
to an email ... have a friend scan your photos and send to me as a small jpeg format. ... Would link it
off our WWII tribute page.

I would like that very much. My dad is still living but is in an Alzheimer's unit next my home
He will be 84 April 10th. Physically, he is in fair shape but his mind is really going. This is a
terrible disease for one to his parent go through. I will try to send you some history just
as soon as I can. I am a Postmaster with the US Postal Service and since 9-11-2001 seems as though I just can't
find time to do anything.

I do have a picture of his plane. Did your uncle fly under the Chinese flag? My father
did for a while. He carried Chinese money in his flight suit so they could buy their out.
The second time he was shot down he, it took them 48 days to get back. This Chinese
currency he donated to the Tenn state museum many years ago. It is still on display
in the WWII section. I do have a great 8x10 of his flight crew that I would like to use

Please stay in touch. This part of history can only go on with people like you. Just
like Sept 11, we should never forget. If you need my home or work phone number
let me know.
Subject:
Great!!!!!!
Date:
Wed, 23 May 2001 22:52:26 -0400
From:
"George Attrill" gattrill@sprint.ca
To:
dochemp@c-zone.net

Love your web site.
Non of this should ever die but we live in different times and people are forgetting I fear.
I really appreciate your poem about the soldier,.... so true!

I was just surfing the net for info on b-25's when I found your site. I
enjoyed reading the info about your family. My father was a B25 pilot who
flew with the 490th in Burma. What a bunch of great guys!

Thanks for the site.

Hi,

My name is Gwendoline I'm 31 and I'm Belgian. I'm sorry form my poor english but I would like to tell you this. A farmer found near the borderline Belgium-France a Mustang
P51 under the ground. Today I went with my father and my godfather (old pilot on mustang) to see the "vestige". I made a deep impression on that. The clothers looked like
new, the zipper "glittered" and the engine was new. In fact, the soil is the glay and that has kept and has protected all. I looked the engine and I saw the oil. I made a lot of
picture of that. I saw on the parachute: made ....1944 K....ton Kentucky but the remain of the date and the name of the town was to fade. Do you know were I can find the
information about the pilots who came during the war 1944, a list of something else. I would like to find more information about that and about mustang P51it is just for me and
my father. This is incredible as all is conserve. The name of the pilot is William Patton according to the police the body will be bring back to Hawai to analyse the ADN,
because the authorities didn't not sure They found the nameplate around the neck with the number and the name but just the authorities are allowed to know exactly more about
the name. Please could you help me to find more information about the pilot and the mustang.
Thank you very much for your help.

Dear Fellow Staggerwing Enthusiasts and owners,

It's been a little over 6 months since I began the Staggerwing web site and
in this time it has gone from strength to strength. It now features over 50
aircraft (a handful of which are for sale) and with help from enthusiasts
and owners around the world, more examples are being added almost daily. I'm
also working on the manual section which will be a great source of build
information when completed. Thanks to everyone who has and continues to help
make this the best Staggerwing resource on the web.

Recent visitors will have noticed that we have started to offer the fabulous
Silverwing range of models. These are highly detailed scale silver leaf
models available in 1/72 and 1/48 scales. Examples of production models can
be seen by clicking the link from www.staggerwing.flyer.co.uk. I have
recently received a Spitfire as a demo model and the quality is outstanding.

I am considering commissioning a limited number of Staggerwing models in
1/72 scale. These will probably be limited to around 50 models and they will
probably cost in the region of �100.00 to �150.00 (pounds sterling) plus
delivery per model.

With this in mind I would be interested in anyone who is interested in
purchasing one of these models. I am not looking for firm orders at this
time, only an idea of the numbers required. Assuming there is a reasonable
response I will get an example built and photographs emailed to those people
interested. At this point you will have the opportunity to place an order or
to decline. All of these models will be hand made to order and will need
paying for when placing the order.

I honestly believe that this will be a one off opportunity rather than a
regular production run. Please forward this email to any Staggerwing owners
that you know who might wish to take advantage of this offer.

I look forward to hearing your comments.

Best regards,
Martyn.

www.staggerwing.flyer.co.uk

BTW - Watch the site from time to time. I've just checked my email and have
another batch of aircraft and photos to add to the site.
Subject:
re. planes
Date:
Sat, 30 Dec 2000 09:58:26 -0500
From:
"potsy25" potsy25@wightman.net
To:
dochemp@c-zone.net

Dear Dave and Becky; My name is Denise Potts and I live in a small town, Palmerston, Ont. I was searching on the web for imfo. on ww2 sappers,
since my Father was one.I came across your sight and realized that my Dad could have painted the names and letters on your planes pictured. He
started doing this in the war and when he returned , later in life he became a professional sign painter and designer. He talked about painting
everything from planes to Harley,s which he drove in the war.He didn,t talk much about it but spent some time in England.I paint myself and really
admire your work E me back if you please, I would love to here from you two Your Friend Denise Potts===== E=[ potsy25@wightman.ne
Subject:
Thanks
Date:
Sun, 10 Dec 2000 08:33:53 -0800 (PST)
From:
SUBERT@webtv.net (R Robinson)
To:
dochemp@c-zone.net

Thanks for a great web site . We should all give thanks to all of
these heros. I sure do .

Your site is wonderful.
My Dad flew B25 in the war,and is intested in knowing how much they cost to
build back then, I haven't been able to find out, any ideas?
Subject:
Warbirdcentral.com
Date:
Sun, 29 Oct 2000 14:50:31 -0700
From:
"Robert Henderson Studios" raf@ris.net
To:
dochemp@c-zone.net

Dear Dr. Hemp and Becky,
Very much enjoyed your website and thought you might enjoy ours. Warbirdcentral.com ... (click here) ... Robert is the bronze warbird sculptor who has
created the memorials for the WWII aviators. His monumental bronze warbirds are housed all over the U.S. - the Air Force Academy, museums and airports. Thought your readers would find our site interesting. We are now speaking to some aviators who are interested in Robert doing a B25 , a B26 and other notable warbirds. Enjoy our website - which is currently under some construction. So, wear your hardhat and enjoy!!!!
Cheryl Henderson
Subject:
Thank you
Date:
Tue, 17 Oct 2000 19:46:42 -0400
From:
"Angel" angeld@capital.net
To:
dochemp@c-zone.net

I just came across your website. What a beautiful tribute for such heroes. I discovered your website while searching
for some information about my grandfather. He also received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal along
with several other medals that I am not able to recognize. My grandfather was a tail-gunner in a B26 Marauder.
Unfortunatly, my grandfather died in 1958, along with many of his stories and great accomplishments. He did not speak
of the war in this short time. My mother is looking for some information on this rare plane. It is NOT easy to find
anything about it.

This is a strange request, but we are running out of leads. Would you have any information on this type of airplane? This
might lead us to the men in his division. It would be most appreciated.

angeld@capital.net
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dear Angel,
First of all .. thanks for the kind words .....
I am going to send this reply to our good friend Thorne Stallings ... author (The Rainbow Chase, Gut Wrench, etc.) and aviation expert .. he has flown 240
different kinds of aircraft and I am willing to bet he has been in or flown one of these Marauders. If he can't at least
steer you in the right direction ... no one can.
I will also post your mail and his reply in the airplane reading room for others to read and may know about these planes too.
regards,
Dave (doc) Hemp
>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dear Angel,

Doc Hemp has forwarded your letter reference your Grandfather and the Martin Marauder B26. There
was also another famous type sometimes confused witht the B-26. It was the A-26 built by Douglas and was
of the same caliber and quality weapon, but used in a different theater. They were also similar in appearence
to an untrained eye. I've not flown a B26, but have been around them and can give you some information
and history on the type. Is there anything in particular you wish to know?

It was originally given a nickname "The Widow Maker" by pilots who flew them because for it's size as a
twin engine bomber it had relatively small wings, large engines and was considered a little difficult to fly.
That later was discovered not to be the case. It just required some different techniques. Other labels
included "The Flying Prostitute" (no visible means of support). It had one of the most distinguished war
records of any twin engine bomber, and flew more missions than any other twin engine bomber.

It was exceptionally fast and was very effective at low altitudes as an attack bomber, more notable in the
Northern African campaign as I can recall. Being a tail gunner in any of these aircraft was a lonely and
scary job. You had no idea where you were, or where you were going! Fortunately, in the B-26 you were
going so fast that it required a fighter of great speed to get much of a run at you. And as a result, gave the
tail gunner more time to lock in, and spend on his target.

An acquaintance of mine got killed in one owned by the Confederate Air Force about 3 years ago. He was
jacking around with it at low altitude, ect, and it bit him. Follow this link for more information.

*Turn & Bank Indicator: An instrument highly ignored by pilots.

*Up: A chant used by pilots taking off from Colorado Springs, who want
to discover the meaning of life.

*VOR: Radio nav aid, named after the VORtex effect of pilots trying to
home in on it.

*Windsocks: Socks that need darning.

*Yankee: Any pilot that asks Houston tower to "Say again."

*Zero: Style and artistry points earned for a gear-up landing.

Now for the quiz:

Q: When entering the traffic pattern VFR, what does the flashing red
light
at the base of the tower mean to you as an aviator?
a. do not land
b. do not land, stay clear of the traffic pattern
c. land and hold short of the intersecting runway
d. your landing gear is not down, don't land until it is down
e. something else, but what?

Hi Folks------While cars(up to the '60s), trucks & trains are my
favorites,
I love WW2 aircraft. Just been going thru your site, not yet finished,
it is
much more than I expected, and a great tribute to your father, uncle and
all
others. these gents made it possible for me to raise a family. There is
no
way to express the neccessary graditude.
J.O.Kling
Elkton, Md.
jokling@iximd.com
Subject:
Lost for Words!
Date:
Fri, 14 Apr 2000 14:02:59 +0100
From:
"Jim Fergusson" jimf@minorplanet.com
To:
dochemp@c-zone.net

Dear Doc & Becky

I'm a Scot living in Leeds, Yorkshire England - (52 today!)

When I was younger I worked in Industrial Radiography - and I was based at many USAAF Airfield sites in Eastern England. They were largely untouched at that
time (1968) - just as if the boys had left the day before - how many of them never made it home! We in Europe owe our freedom to the USA's generous help -
twice in the last century! - and in Europe from 1945 until - well Now.....

The trouble is that like Alan Breck in Stevenson's magnificent 'Kidnapped' - we have 'A Grand Memory for Forgetting'

Without that and the sacrifices of folks like my parents, life would indeed be a dark affair!

Your site is a testimony to a real patriotism that I love - I'll visit many times in the future.

I now develop software for my Company in Leeds http://www.minorplanet.com - Your site is also a living testimony to your professionalism in the Computing field
also - our 'web presence' is less than impressive as yet...

Any information you can give me on where to go to get these pics (on the
web) I would
be very grateful.

Again great site and keep up the good work.

that is to cool. several of my friends and myself use to workout with
your dad in his garage . man i have Sooooo much respect for that MAN.
the things he would tell us....and boy he wouldn't mess around either.
when it was time to workout it was time to work!
i lived in the house across the street and down one. my best
friend was Steve Carter who lived up the street on your dads side.
i'm so glad i ran across your web site!
well take care
Todd Power
Subject:
(Veterans)
Date:
Wed, 29 Mar 2000 11:11:58 EST
From:
ELLISIAM@cs.com
To:
dochemp@c-zone.net

Awesome - this is the kind of patriotism I want to intill in my young
children.

My regards and thanks to your family and my sincerest gratitude to them and
those like them who have kept this country free.

Respectfully,

Excellent!
A wonderful history of your dad and others. They were true heroes compared
to some of the so-called heroes of today.
The soldiers poem should be displayed on all memorials erected for the men
and woman that came home and for those that made the supreme sacrifice and
did not come home.
Subject:
Sai Hi,
Date:
Tue, 21 Dec 1999 10:55:38 -0500
From:
"Pastor Jim" cma@icontech.com
To:
dochemp@c-zone.net

Appreciated the pic of the 17.
My older brother, harold, flew B 17's out of England.
He was shot down twice. The first time he ditched in the Black Sea and made it back.
The 2nd time he was shot down was on his 26th mision. He volunterered because his buddy was ill.
The good news was that he did survive. He spent about 18 mo in a German Prison camp.

How are you my friend? I have been under the weather and busy, busy.

Dear doc and Becky;

I see that your family served Germany just as long and as proudly as my family served
France . I humbly request a copy of the poem "SOLDIER". When I retired from the
UNITED STATES NAVY in August of 1990 I ended an unbroken service string in France
and the United States of 150 years.

I like you and your family served with both pride and humility. My e-mail ::
N6LWD@EARTHLINK.NET

Folks, this following email is from the fellow that saw we were looking for this Nov 20, 1943 Saturday Evening Post in which there was an article about my Uncle Herb (a B 25 Mitchell Bomber Pilot in the China theater during world war 2 - done just before he & crew were shot down & killed) as posted on our airplane pages out of BAD Chariots .... Steve saw our request for that magazine & contacted us ... he only wanted $10.00 including shipping for it ...... now that may be the going price for these ..... but not that one special date for us!! We sent him more for finding our wants from the internet for this special magazine!! We do not collect magazines ...... only this special one! Uncle Herb was awarded 4 Purple Hearts, the Air Medal & the Flying Cross. I feel it is my responsibility to live his life for him too .... which he & other Veterans gave up to protect all of us. To enjoy the freedom of this wonderful country & what it has to offer. Thank you again Stephen Kriss.Dave Hemp

At 05:02 PM 1/14/99 -0800, you wrote:
>Steve,
>we really appreciated your contacting us on the magazine .... we felt
>you didn't charge enough .... wanted to wait & see if you were for real
>with your offer first though and that we actually got the magazine before we sent you some more money .... we are glad you are. We only had
>copies of the front & the article before. Do you have a website we can
>link to? Do you do this commercially? If so we will give you a plug
>with your address & phone # ... just email it to me again to post.
>kindest regards,
>Dave & Becky

>
Hi Dave and Becky.

I have been selling vintage magazines and paper
collectibles part time since 1980. I will be retiring in two years and then
will probably have the time to "fool around" with a web site and update it
on a routine and timely basis.

I am aware what dealers charge for various vintage magazines and the higher
prices for searching and individual covers, etc., and that I can easily
receive those prices for my inventory. However, I am not in a full time
business with overhead to worry about, and enjoy attempting to find or sell
an item at a price that makes one happy and gives me a small profit (which
is at present being used to complete a set of Saturday Evening Posts from
1900-1949).

I can be contacted through the above email address or at 30 East 9th Street,
New York, NY 10003, should you wish to recommend me.

Once again, thanks for your generosity, concern and good thoughts.

Your taking time to respond to email is very much appreciated. Your stuff is
both interesting and entertaining. The picture of Santa and the "present"
is particularly appreciated. Always get excited when I see something like
that. Wish I could remember why!

I don't have any scheduled obligations such as you, having to be at the
drilling site at specific times. The time and effort you take to respond is
a class act! But if you don't put so much time into responding I'll
certainly understand. With your fantastic site and all the things you're
into, I know you must have a legion of people sending you email.

On the topic at hand, I bought my 51's in the early sixties. I paid 5K for
the first (5439V) owned by an aircraft mechanic at the Carlsbad airport. The
second, only 300 hours on it, cost me 20K. A doctor in Grand Junction, Co.
bought it in Dallas, flew it home, nosed it in on landing and creamed the
prop and the left gear pork chop. The doc decided that the Beech, fork-
tailed doctor-killer would be a better bet. We (Soup Hoisington from
Aerosport at Chino and I) fixed it up and flew it home. The third was the
TF. A guy in Chicago brought it in from Nicaragua and I bought it from him
after he ran out of money (something a 51 will do very quickly) for 13K!
Fixed it up and sold it to the Bolivians for a hell of a profit (after
having a blast in it for a while). They were going to use it to train
pilots to deal with their commie inspired tin miner revolt. The poor slobs
augured it into a smoking hole within the week they got it. My third and
last one, the one from the doctor was sold to the US Air Force at Edwards
AFB around 1969 to be used as a chase plane on an Army helicopter (Cheyenne)
flight test program. When I flew it in there to deliver it, half the base
turned out to see it. There were a lot of old "brown shoe" Air Corps guys
still around at the time. A grizzled old Colonel with an enormous fruit
salad on his chest got tears in his eyes when he climbed up on the wing to
greet me. No, no, it was the airplane, not me.

We have a little place on the beach in Tahiti. A friend of ours there, who
owns the local airline, also has a 51 he plays with. The last time I saw
Hoisington, (your son probably knew him) was there about 7 or 8 years ago.
I heard Soup died a few years ago.

Much as I loved flying the 51 and F-8, I must insist that the most fun one
can have with his pants on is flying the Lear. At 7 nautical miles per
minute, one has to be ahead of the airplane or make a mess. Another toy I
had great fun with was my Hughes 400-D helo. Put about 600 hours into that
but one year a lot of them made smoking holes in expensive places and the
insurance company thought that maybe 45 G's was a fair annual premium.
That's when that came to a screeching halt. The guy who taught me to fly
helo's was once a command pilot on Marine One for Tricky Dickie. Hell of a
guy. Did 2 tours in Nam and retired early as a full bird Colonel.

I don't mean to impose on your time as much as I clearly have. Just let me
know you got my email. Netscape provides for a return receipt. I have not
been able to find that feature in the Evil Empire's Internet Exploiter
which I use on the machine here in Ca.

Anyhoo I still have a number of active flying pals and will put out feelers
for a Pee 51, but I understand they are quite pricy nowadays. About two
orders of magnitude over the 30 year ago bracket. Pity, we had 15,000 of
them once and the Adam Henries turned most of them into pots, pans and beer
cans. Back when I was in the game, I picked up 6 fresh overhaul engines in
QEC from Victory Salvage in LA for $500 bucks each, crated. Understand a
serviceable Merlin today is worth six figures. How times change.

Regards

Stan

PS. A good portion of my little air force, one of the 51's, the Bearcat, SNJ
and T-6 all appeared in the movie "Wings of Fire" which was shot at my home
base, Bracket Field, in La Verne, Ca. (Suzanne Pleshette and Lloyd Nolan,
etc.) I'm sure I have a copy of it someplace on VHS. Send your snail mail
10-20 and when I find it I'll send it. Frank Talman (God rest him) flew
the F-8 and I can't remember who flew the 51. They refused to let me fly
unless I agreed to join some damned union. Much as I wanted to do it,
unions are against my religion. My political passions are well to the right
of my hero, Genges Khan, and for me to join a union would have the same
result as Dracula walking out into the sunlight.

By the way, saw a neat Sony Digital camera today. It's like the Mavica,
with a floppy drive in it to store 40 stills or 1 minute of motion and sound
at 1024 by 768 and also has USB but even better, has 14 to 1 optical zoom
and good camera quality glass. One Killobuck even at Fry's Electronics.
Smart money says the New Sony 200 Mbyte floppy will be in the next model
within a few months. In the meantime, I think Olympus still provides the
most bang for a killobuck.
Subject:
Hello
Date:
Wed, 5 Aug 1998 21:58:47 -0500
From:
"JOHN RICHARDS" johnmerton@worldnet.att.net
To:
dochemp@c-zone.net
I found your site(s) by calling up a picture of an OS2U, the aircraft I finished my flight training in, in Dec. 1941. What a site(s) you have. I am
dumfounded! I retired after 30 years sevice as, finally, a Navy Captain and type with only one finger. I used to have a secretary to take care of
that problem for me! My daughter is now at Sturgis with a local group via the mountains.Before I left home for Navy flight training I owned a
very second hand 1927 Harley. I wish I had it back!! I`ll get around to exploring all of your sites soon. Is there a a disk available of you
continuos Music?
Thanks for a great experience!
Jack (John) Richards
Subject:
Parallels
Date:
Thu, 10 Dec 1998 00:39:27 -0700
From:
"Stan Kurzet" skurzet@email.msn.com
To:
dochemp@c-zone.net

Spent some more time browsing your fabulous web site and from your
"airplanes" page found that we have more than an interest in trains in
common.

Briefly: Your son was in the Marines, so was I, circa Korea. He worked on
P51's. I did too, also flew them and owned 3 at one point. The last one I
got rid of was the last surviving TF 51 D which I sold to the Bolivian air
farce (pun intended).

Your family is from Germany, mine from Poland. Our genes were neighbors!
Your grandfather escaped from a POW camp and so did my father. He was on
his way to Katin with 15,000 other Polish officers (executed by the
Russians) when he escaped. We emigrated to the US during WWII. Mother was
a lawyer and came to the US a few months before the war started to study
Admiralty law at Columbia. Full name prior to contraction was Kurzetkowski.
Got tired of being called SKI in the "crotch", (I was one of umpteen
Pollacks in my outfit). I was born in Poznan, Poland (50 klicks from
Germany) in 1931. Mother was of German ancestry (Tygerman) and father
Polish. The panzers were there in 2 hours of the start of the war. We got
to be guests of the Germans and Russians at one point and another. We
walked out of Poland through the forests at night during the winter of
1939-40 and got out via Lithuania and Sweden, thence the length of Germany
by train right under the noses of the Gestapo. That's a story all in
itself. We left Paris just a few weeks prior to the arrival of Der Fuhrer
en route Genoa whence we took ship for Panama. After some six months, State
relented and let us into the 48 to join mama.

Beyond those similarities are that I used to ride bikes, starting with an
army surplus Harley 45 in 1953 which I rode off a cliff into the Pacific
near Ensenada. Thereafter there was an assortment of Squaw Chasers, Hogs,
AJ's, Triumphs, etc. etc, etc., but the interest in airplanes eventually won
out as income increased. Got my Private ticket in 1948 and ended up with
about 8,000 hours. By the time I hung it up, had a Commercial,
Instrument, Multi engine, Helo and Lear Jet ratings. About 1200 hours were
in Lear 36A a similar amount in P51's, F8F-2, AT-6 and the rest in Temco
Swift, Cessna 310, 320, 421, and a dozen or more assorted fartcarts. I
still have one puddle jumper left, a 235 turbo charged Maule I bought as a
duster for the ranch. The poor thing hasn't been out of the hangar in 6
years. Did I mention scuba? Yup, that too. Even dove the Red Sea. The
kid (our son John) has his open water card also. He got it in dead of
winter in the People's Democratic Republic of Massachusetts where he was
going to school at the time.

I'll bet that once we start comparing notes, a lot of other parallels will
emerge